Wall insert



A ril 25, 1933. B Q PLACE 1,905,603

WALL INSERT Filed July 10. 1951 gvwentom Patented Apr. 25, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 BION 0. PLACE, OI DETROIT, HICH IGAN, ASSIGNOB F ONE-HALF GEORGE E. GAG-INTER,

' OF DE TROI'lE, MICHIGAN wan. msaa'r Application filed July 10,

This invention relates to wall inserts designed to provide for the ready attachment of door frames, window frames, moldings or the like to concrete or similar initially plastic 5 walls, and at the same time to provide means for housing electrical conduits or the like.

In modern building construction involving the use of concrete or similar initially plastic material in the construction of the walls, promolding and finishing frames to the walls. Generally wooden inserts are placed in the molded wall in position to receive the driven fasteners that secure the moldin s or finish frames to the wall after completion thereof. Such arrangements are not entirely satisfactory and they are'relatively costly in installation."

Moldings and finishing frames and the like can be satisfactorily attached to walls by means of spring or such fasteners, if the walls are provided with inserts designed'to receive such fasteners. A satisfactory spring fastener forthis purpose that requires only an when it has been inserted in a wa l to enable fasteners of the kind described in the patent just referred to, or equivalent fasteners, to be used in attaching moldings, trim frame members or the like to such walls. 4 Another object of the invention is to vide a metal insert for a wall that is designed to provide a means to hold the insert imbedded in the wall, and that is so'shaped that the insert may be used with'equal' facilityin' a floor, ceiling or wall, as well as in a corner between a floor and wall, or betwen two walls dis osedat ri ht angles to each other.

7 nother ob]ect of the invention is to rovide the wall insert that is normally of ol low form open only at each end so that theinsert can be embedded in the walls, while the interior thereof maintained free of the inireadily available.

vision is usually made for the attachment of made in a wall of the housing by sim opening ina sheet of metal to constitute a Y I insert strip illustrated in Fi pro showing another use of the insert of 1931. Serial No. 549,981.

be provided therein in an extremely simple and effective manner by using tools that are A still further object of the invention is to vide a 'socket,'or sockets, for spring fasteners that may be applied to moldings or trim material for walls, that is so constructed as to provide at the same time a. convenient housing for the reception of electrical con- 7 duits or the like, and that is especially equipped so asto enableanopening to be y completely removing a portion of said si e which is substantially completely severed from the remainder'of'said side during the manufacture of the insert.

Still further objects of the invention will appear as a description thereof proceeds with respect to the accompanying drawing in which I p Figure 1 is a fragmentary view of a portion of the wall having a section of an insert corresponding to the present invention embedded therein.

- Figure2 is a vertical section of. the wall and Y re 1, amolding and spring fastener being s own in position in dotted lines, illustrating one mode of using the insert constituting an essentialpart of the'present invention.

Figure 3 is a lon' 'tudinal section on the plane indicated by t e line 3-3 in Figure 1,

the partially separated metal that normally .covers one. of the openings in the strip being bent out of the plane of'the side of the insert to illustrate a mode of opening the holes in the insert. f

Figure 4- is a fragmentary sectional view.

s mvention and one way of using such insert 7 when put to such use.

. Figure 5 is an elevational view showing a modified form of insert stri designed par-- ticularly for'the purpose of receiving electrical conduits. 1

Figure 6 is a sectional View taken on the 9' plane indicated by the line 66 in Figure 5. Figure 7 is a sectional view showing an other mode of using the insert strip of the present invention.

. Like reference characters indicate like .parts throughout the several figures.

The insert strip of the present invention is preferably constructed of sheet metal. A blank of elongated form and proper width is first provided with a multiplicity of slits at the points along the length thereof at which openings may be required in the completed insert. The slits may be made in any convenient substantially closed form, though a small portion, or portions, of the metal necessary to complete the enclosed form is unsevered or uncut so that the metal almost separated by the slit is maintained in-position to close the openings that is formed when said small portion, or portions, are subsequently cut.

If the openings are to be round in outline, as is preferred if such openings are to be used to receive the resilient shanks of snap or spring fasteners, the slits are made in a substantially completely circular form as illustrated by the numeral 10, small portions necessary to completely separate the portion of the blank between the lines of the sub-- stantially complete slit 10, designated by 11, are maintained unsevered. The slits 10 are formed at intervals along the length of the blank, the partially severed metal between the substantially-closed slits 10 being held in position in the plane of the metal in which said slits are formed by the unsevered portions 11.

After the blank has been provided with the slits just described, it is bent into the form of a hollow housing. Preferably, the housing is formed so that it is triangular in cross-section. As illustrated in the drawing, the mid-portion of the metal 12 in which the slits are formed, constitutes a side of the insert that is to be exposed. The portions of the blank adjacent the mid-portions 12 are turned inwardly and converge toward each other, said convergently disposed sides being designated by the numerals 13 and y 14. The portions 13 and 14 are arranged so that a right angle is formed between them.

tions 13 and 14 together at the point of convergence 15. l

The insert thus formed may be put to a number of uses. It maybe embedded in a vertically extending wall 18 by disposing the insert so that the side 12 thereof will be exposed when the wall is completed. The wall is then molded around said strip, the outwardly flaring portions 16 and 17 firmly and positively holding the insert in position after the wall has been completed. The in itially plastic material of which the wall is composed cannot enter the housing defined by the sides 12 and the portions 13 and 14 of the insert, since the metal substantially completely severed by the substantially completely closed slits 10 is maintained in position closing the openings that would result upon the removal of the metal virtually completely separated from the side 12.

\Vhen the insert has been positioned in the wall in the manner just described, it is admirably adapted to enable the trim material,

such as the window and dooh frames or molding ordinarily used to finish'lthe interiors of rooms, to be readily attached means of my spring fasteners.- To this end the inserts are positioned in the wall so that they may serve the specific purpose for wh1 ch they are intended. They may extend vertically, horizontally, or diagonally 1n the wall,

ceiling. or floor in accordance with the need for the use to which the insert is put.

In Figure 2 the insert is shown, by way of example, as a means for attaching a molding, such as a picture molding, the molding and the preferred spring fastener being indicated in dotted lines in said figure. When it 1s desired to attach said molding, the openlngs are provided in the insert by either breaking away the small disks of metal substantially separated from the sides12 or the slits 10, or by bending said disks inwardly as shown at 19, Figure 3. Either of these operations may be accom tools that are Immediately available, a punch or nail set, for example.

The molding may assume any desired form such as that illustrated in Figure 2 showing a sheet metal molding having an ornamental base portion 20 formed from the mid-portion such as .of a sheet metal blank, a portion 21 and two inwardly extending flanges 22 and 23 disposed in the same plane with a gap between them. The spring fasteners are inserted so that the shank 24 thereof extends through said gap and so that the head 25 thereof laps the adjacent inwardly turned flanges 22 and 2.3. The molding is positioned by causing the resilient shank 24 to enter the opening, the engagement of the shanks 25 and 26 with the edges of the openings causing a contraction of the shank of the fastener that enables it to be passed through said opening. As the movement of the fastener through the thereto by lished by the ordinary use of.

opening is continued, the shank expands and the convergently disposed holding portions 27 and 28 serve to hold the molding in position with a firm yielding action. Door frame or window frame strips may be applied in the same manner The insert just described is, by virtue'of its form, inherently capable of being set into a wall or disposed across a corner between adjacent walls, or between a wall and thefioor or the ceiling. When it is desired to locate the insert in a corner, as just stated, it is applied to the corner in the manner indicated in Figure 4 of the drawing, so that the portions 13 and 14 are located in abutment with the adjacent walls, the outwardly flar ing portions 16 and 17 being embedded in the initially plastic material immediatel adjacent the corner in which the insert is positioned as clearly shown in this figure.

When put to this usethe insert may serve a number of purposes, as for example the securing of a rug 29. When used for this purpose,'the openings are formed in the insert after it has been completely installed in the manner above stated. The rug may be secured by providing the edges thereof with openings 30 approximately opposite the openings in the insert. Short sheet metal clips or holding members 31 provided with openings for the receptionof the shank 32 of the snap fastener of the type above referred to are disposed with the o enings approximately in alignment with t e openings 30 in the rug and the opening in the insert.

'- The fastener is then inserted in the manner that are sprung behind the tongues 34 and Any other arrangement 35, respectively. for securing the rug utilizing the Insert placed as just described may be emplolyed. The insert when used in the corner may ikewise be used for'many other purposes than for securing ru s.

The insert 0 the present invention may likewise be used to serve the further function of housing the electrical conductors that are ordinarily used to wire buildings for lighting and other purposes. When put to such use the insert maybe formed as illustrated in Figures 5 and 6, in which 12- designates the normally exposed side of the insert. Said side is provided with a slit 39 of relatively large rectangular 'or similar closed outline.

' The slit 39 substantially serves a. relatively large portion of the side 12 of the insertion, small portions such as 40 and 41 being maintained unsevered prior to the embedding of for said outlet.

41 or by bendingthe metal covering the opening inwardly so that outlet connections of' any approved form may be made with the conductors 42. The same strip may be pro vided with openings 10' for the rece tion of 'sprin or theli e may be carried up to the outlet formed as just described. Or said sirip' may beprovided with suitable further openings disposed so as to provide for the attachment by spring fasteners of switch cover plates fasteners so that finish mol ings The insert strip of this invention may also in Figure 7, in which 43 indicates two layers' of bricks or tiles of a wall. Said layers are separated from each other by a mortar, 44 followin conventional practices. The outwardly fi aring portions 16 and 17 of the insert strip are embedded in mortar 44, said strip being positioned in the mortar so that the face 12 of the strip 'rojects outwardly from the brick or tile wa 1 an amount equal to the thiekness of the plaster 45 subsequent- 11y applied thereto in well known manner.

he plaster adjacent the strip is interlocked the strip so that a satisfactory joint results along bofih edges of the strip. The face 12 in back of the inclined walls 13 and 14 of is provided with slitsj that enable'openings to be later readily formed therein as above described.

, The invention may be embodied :in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics" thereof.

The present embodiment-is thereforeto be considered iniall respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention be ing indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all bhanges which come-within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claimsare therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to'be' secured by United States Letters Patent is 1. An insert strip for' initially plastic walls, comprising a hollow body, provided with means designed to hold the body to the wall when embedded therein, said bodyine cludingan exposed'side provided with a cut substantially completely, but not entirely, severing a portion of said side from the remainder sothat an opening-may be readily formed through said side by removing said portion.

2. An insert strip for initially plastic walls, comprising a hollow body, provided with means designed to hold the body to the wall when embedded therein, said body including an exposed side provided with a multiplicity of cuts each substantially completely but not entirely severing a portion of said side from the vremainder so that one or more openings into said body may be readily provided through said side by removing one or more of said portions. 2 i

3. A sheet metal wall insert strip, comprising aho-llow body having means to hold said body in a wall in which it may be embedded. and includin a substantially complete opening in said odyformed by sever ing a portion of a sheet metal face without completely separating said portion which is maintained in said opening so as to close the same and still be readily separable-when it is desired to provide a complete opening in said body.

4. A sheet metal wall insert strip, comprising a hollow body having means to hold said body in a wall in which it may be embedded, and including a side arranged to be exposed, said side being provided with a multiplicity of slits of approximately closed form, whereby openings may be readily formed in said insert after it has beenfixed' in a wall. v

5. The insertstrip of claim 4 constructed by bending the mid-portion of a sheet metal blank into triangular form and integrally uniting the edges of said portion at an angle of the triangle.

6. A wall insert strip having a hollow cross-sectional form including three straight sides, the angle between two of said sides beis positioned in a wall, and two further sides converging toward each other and forming a right angle between them, each of said converging sldes being extended be 0nd the point of convergence and being ared outwardly to provide means to hold the strip embedded in said wall.

10. The strip defined in claim 9 in which said side designed to be exposed is provided with a plurality of slits in the form of a nea rly closed figure to enable openings to be readily formed in said side.

11. A wall having a hollow elongated metal insert strip embedded therein when the wall is in plastic condition, said strip being triangular in cross section and having a portion projecting beyond the wall, one side of the triangular cross section being arranged parallel to said wall, and a plaster coating for said walls interlocked behind the other two converging sides of the triangle formed by the sides of. the strip.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

BION 0. PLACE.

ing substantially 90 wherebysaid strip may be used in corners and means projecting away from said form designed to hold said form anchored to a wall when said means are embedded therein. I

7. A wall insert striphaving a hollow cross-sectional form including three straight sides formed by bending .an elongated strip of metal into triangular form, one of the angles of thetriangle being a right angle and means projecting away from said form designed to hold said form anchored to a wall when'said means are embedded therein.

8. A wall insert strip formed from an elongated sheet metal blank, the body of which is bent into triangular form and the edges of which flare outwardly away from each other, 'one of the angles of the triangle being a right angle and means in the wall of the triangular form opposite said right angle permitting fasteners to be interlocked therewith.

9. A hollow wall insert strip comprising a side designed to be exposed when the strip 

